A joint media project of the global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) and the lay Buddhist network Soka Gakkai International (SGI) aimed to promote a vision of global citizenship which has the potentiality to confront the global challenges calling for global solutions, by providing in-depth news and analyses from around the world.

News & Analysis

NEW YORK (IDN) - Pope Francis – born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936 – has been noted in his home country “for his humility, his emphasis on God's mercy, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to interfaith dialogue”. But in his wide-ranging address at the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, the Argentine pontiff has proved himself the sole world leader, unfettered by parochial interests of any sort whatsoever. [P17] JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | KOREAN TEXT VERSIONPDF

NEW YORK (IDN) - The United Nations General Assembly deliberated on peace and non-violence at the UN headquarters in New York on September 9, making a significant contribution to fostering global citizenship at a point in time when the world is torn apart by multidimensional conflicts in all sectors of the globe. [P16] GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | NORWEGIAN

HAIFA (IDN) - Israel has contributed to Global Citizenship in a number of ways including assisting students from developing countries to tackle development challenges, using the Jewish state’s experience in emergency situations to provide assistance and emergency relief around the world. [P15] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The United Nations is planning to launch a global campaign against the spread of intolerance, extremism, racism and xenophobia — largely by harnessing the talents of the younger generation.

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The U.N.’s highly ambitious post-2015 development agenda, which is expected to be finalised shortly, has come fire even before it could get off the ground.

A global network of civil society organisations (CSOs), under the banner United Nations Major Groups (UNMG), has warned that the agenda, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “lacks urgency, a clear implementation strategy and accountability.” [P11] ARABIC | GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH | TURKISH

LIVERPOOL, England (IPS) - An exhibition on modern-day slavery at the International Slavery Museum in this northern English town is just one example of a museum choosing to focus on human rights, and being “upfront” about it.

Contrary to a widespread view, fostering global citizenship is not an abstract concept. It is rooted in the belief and actions of all sections of the society that, irrespective of creed and colour human beings, belong to one vast family. Civil society reflecting the aspirations and concerns of the common woman and man plays an important role.

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - “The action of the private sector can make or break the post-2015 development agenda,” Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said in his opening remarks at a side event hosted in the context of a high-level political forum at the U.N. on July 8. [P09] JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - You may have heard of Global Citizenship Education (GCED), but unless you move in international development circles, chances are you’re not entirely sure what the acronym means.

Speaking at a seminar on this very issue at the United Nations headquarters on Jun. 15, Sofia Garcia-Garcia of SOS Children’s Villages, a care organisation striving to meet the needs of over 80,000 children in 133 countries worldwide, provided an excellent summary. [P08] JAPANESE TEXT VERESION PDF

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - In a world where high levels of social and religious intolerance, conflicts, violent extremism and environmental degradation are threatening justice and peace, the United Nations is trying to find ways to maintain world order and promote sustainable development. [P07] JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | KOREAN TEXT VERSION PDF

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - When Denmark hosted the World Summit on Social Development (WSSD) in March 1995, one of the conclusions of that international gathering in Copenhagen was to create a new social contract with “people at the centre of development.” [P06] JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF

BRUSSELS (IDN) - While mystery shrouds the concept of ‘global citizenship’ for wide sections of the general public, a growing number of civil society organisations, enlightened governments and the United Nations are undertaking concerted efforts to lift the veil of enigma. [P05] CHINESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF

Why choose Fostering for Global Citizenship

This website is part of a joint media project of the global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) and the lay Buddhist network Soka Gakkai International (SGI) aimed to promote a vision of global citizenship to confront the global challenges calling for global solutions, by providing in-depth news and analyses from around the world. >>>read more>>>

CAIRO (IDN) - One does need to think back half a century ago, to remember how much harmony and peaceful coexistence reigned in Arab countries between Muslims, Christians and Jewish. Nor does one need to recall how hundreds of Muslims gathered to protect Christians praying in their churches in Egypt during and after the 2011 popular upraising. Or how organised groups of Copts acted as a human shield to save Muslims praying in Cairo's Tahrir Square from extremists' attacks during the successive waves of popular protests.[P] PERSIAN (FARSI) | JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The future of religion in U.S. politics lies not with conservatives but rather with religious progressives, social scientists here are suggesting, with a faith-based movement potentially able to provide momentum to a new movement for social justice.

According to a new report from the Brookings Institute, a think tank here, the current religious social justice movement can be compared to the period of civil rights activism in the mid-20th century. [P] JAPANESE TEXT VERSIONPDF | SPANISH